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Subject:The question of education... -Reply From:David Hailey <FAHAILEY -at- WPO -dot- HASS -dot- USU -dot- EDU> Date:Mon, 7 Oct 1996 15:34:48 -0600
Frankly, I think with your skills in hand, you stand a
better chance of getting a decent job than with an MA. The
ability to demonstrate skills is more important (IMHO) than
a specific degree. Most jobs that do ask for degrees ask
for something besides an English related degree (e.g.,
engineering) of say something like "English, Writing,
Journalism or other. . ."
I would make certain that I could list on my resume many of
the software packages you see listed in this community,
RoboHELP, Word, Framemaker, Acrobat, etc., and I would
build some portfolio quality pieces to show what I could do.
I would also get some technical writing text books (they
are pretty poor in their content but better than the
scholarly styles you will have been taught in your English
Department) and I would study them for style and technique.
You could spend another two years at thousands of $ per year
in school or you could be working. I would opt for
working. IMHO with your English Degree in hand you will
learn far more in the real world than you would learn in any
grad program in the country.
For what it's worth
Dave Hailey
Assistant Professor
Professional Writing/Hypermedia
Utah State University
fahailey -at- wpo -dot- usu -dot- edu
